Another Blasphemy Prosecution in India

An Indian novelist has been arrested for blasphemy for apparently saying mean things about the Hindu god Ganesh, this hurting the incredibly tender feelings of authoritarians who think they have a right to punish anyone who dares offend them. Paul Fidalgo, filling in at the Friendly Atheist while Hemant goes off and gets married (congratulations, Hemant!), has the details.

Yogesh Master, an apparently prolific Indian author, has been arrested for what amounts to a blasphemy charge. In his new novel Dhundi, which is written in the Kannada language, the Hindu god Lord Ganesha is subject to “derogatory references” and is portrayed “in a highly objectionable manner,” according to complaints.

I’ve not been able to unearth any actual text, English or otherwise, of the novel in question, but according to Daijiworld Media Network, the complaints are that Ganesha is portrayed as “cruel” and “rowdy,” having an “illicit relationship”…

Here’s the actual charge:

Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Kamal Pant said the case has been registered under Section 295 A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and Section 298 (Uttering words, etc with deliberate intent to wound religious feeling) of the [Indian Penal Code].

Fuck your religious feelings. I guess I just ensured that I’ll never go to India, eh?

A country that has a senior police official named “Kamal Pant” who occupies a position called “Additional Commissioner of Police” is just baiting people to make derogatory comments in general. I especially like the title’s “Law and Order” modifier, which implies that the normal Police Commissioner has some other, more important focus. Perhaps the Redundant Commissioner of Police (Silly Titles) should look into this.

I never understood the whole blasphemy thing. Really, shouldn’t a god be able to take care of that him/herself?

Prohibitions against blasphemy protect “faith” — the fragile, tender, weak virtue of believing in belief. That’s hard to do, given what’s stacked against it. When that goes, all you’ve got left is reason and evidence and we all know where that leads. It’s a matter of honor: respecting faith is respecting God by soothing away doubt.

Ganesha is portrayed as “cruel” and “rowdy,” having an “illicit relationship”…

And yet another example of people who don’t read their own holy books. If you read the Mahabharata and other Hindu texts you can find numerous example of cruel or capricious behavior and illicit relationships by various Gods. Ganesha himself exists in the elephant form because Shiva beheads his young son(unknown to him) – But evidently thats Gods working in their mysterious ways – not cruel behavior ..